Reading: Mark Anderson September 14, 2005

Mark Anderson, contributing writer for Wired magazine and the author of ? ?Shakespeare? By Another Name,? will hold a reading at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 14, at the Carleton College Gould Library Athenaeum. The event is free and open to the public.

Anderson, a member of the Carleton class of 1989 with a major in physics, has spent over a decade researching the life of Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, a member of Queen Elizabeth?s court whom many scholars believe is the actual author of the collected works attributed to Shakespeare.

Anderson?s biography points out a series of parallels concerning Shakespeare?s work. For example, de Vere?s travels took him to the locations in France and Italy that are mentioned in the plays, and he is reported to have squabbled with a moneylender in Venice. Through careful analysis of available historical records, Anderson comes to a number of interesting and surprising conclusions.

Several prominent Shakespeare scholars have praised Anderson?s effort. ? ?Shakespeare? By Another Name? has received advance praise from Kristin Linklater, professor of theater at Columbia University and Sarah Smith, the author of ?Chasing Shakespeare.? The book also features a foreword by noted Shakespearean actor Sir Derek Jacobi. Initial reviews of the book have been positive, as well. Kirkus Reviews says, ?Anderson makes a spirited case, and even the staunchest anti-de Vere advocate will profit from hearing him out.?

Anderson has written on the subject for Harper?s, the Boston Globe, and the PBS Web site. His journalism has been published in Wired, Rolling Stone and Science. He lives in Massachusetts.

For more information and disability accommodations, call the Carleton Gould Library at (507) 646-4260.